


The Final Chapter

by ThisIsLizz



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-12
Updated: 2013-11-12
Packaged: 2018-01-01 08:08:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1042414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisIsLizz/pseuds/ThisIsLizz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How do you end a book about all you have lived through during the zombie apocalypse? What to write on these last few pages? "And they lived happily ever after?"<br/>Maybe you should write the truth. Write, how your friends of Abel Township and New Canton adapted to their new, zombie free lives. Maybe that's the best idea.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning:
> 
> This small fillet contains Spoilers for Season 1 and Season 2 of Zombies, Run! (including canon character deaths and stuff, so don't read if you don't like spoilers!)
> 
> It neglects the last transmission of the S2 Mission 40, and the whole New Canton Runner Five arc (because I have no idea what they are building up to ^__^).
> 
> Chapter 2 is an alternate ending, because I couldn't decide how to end the story!

Now then, here we are, the final chapter. It’s been quite a long time, writing this book, and it’s gotten quite big. Still, I couldn’t tell all the stories, couldn’t talk about all my friends and allies and enemies as much as I should have. And yet, there are so many pages full of memories.

 

But how to end a book like this? A book full of tears and pain and loss and death, but also full of friendship and loyalty and hope and reuniting?  
„And they all lived happily ever after?“ Well, I’d certainly like to write that, but we don’t know yet, do we? Will we all live happily ever after? I hope so, but who knows?  
Maybe the best way to end this book would be to not end it at all. Let you, dear readers, find out for yourself what happened to all those people you’ve hopefully come to like during this reading.

But with communications still not fully reestablished at the point of finishing this script, it would be a long research. And time is still precious, even more in days like these, when we have to rebuilt not only houses and cities but also our whole society. Mankind, if you will. Economy, religion, the internet of course.  
As I am writing this, there are people trying to re-establish Facebook, of all things, and a small group of teenagers recently posted on Rofflenet they had saved thousands of gifs on hard drives. They only need someone to help them putting tumblr back online again.  
Strange times, dear readers, strange times and so you might prefer not to do your own research about the fate of all these people in my book.

 

That’s why I’m going to use these last pages to tell you what happened to them after it was all over. To the people of Abel Township. To the people of New Canton. To my friends. To those I dedicate this book to.

 

Janine DeLuca’s story is - of that I am quite sure - known to most of you. Well, maybe not if you have lived in a cave somewhere in the mountains and haven’t had access to any kind of information up till now. If so, let me assure you that I feel honored my book is the first thing you decided to read.

Now then, Janine DeLuca, or should I say Janine - „Head of Ministry of Defense and Protection Against Zombie Activity“ - DeLuca. It’s not a surprise, really, with all she has done for the people at Abel, and her important role in finding the antidote to the zombie virus. We all owe her our lives and she has always been a great leader. When the Major died, Janine took over, and she did a great job. After the war against the zombies was over, won, and mankind saved, she was the one to reorganize our military troops, having gained their trust long before. When Palmer won the first elections after the war, there was no doubt who’d get the job as Head of Ministry of Defense and Protection Against Zombie Activities, Janine deLuca was the most suited candidate. And the people and military trusted her to get rid of the last zombie hordes. She does a superb job at that.  
Some of you might wonder about Janine’s private life. It might be surprising, but yes, Janine does in fact have a private life. A few month after the end of the war, she even got married to André Lemair, one of the leading military officers in France. It was a small wedding and she did look lovely in her wedding dress. Well, no, who am I kidding, both of them wore military uniforms, and looked fabulous.

Maybe I should stop writing about her here to not take away your fluffy happy-ending feelings, but the truth is, their marriage didn’t last very long. They still seem to get along well, and they work together to make Europe one hundred percent zombie free again, but they are not longer a couple. Sometimes things just don’t work out, especially relationships. It’s been like that before the outbreak, and during the apocalypse, and it will be like that afterwards.  
Back in the old days of Abel Township, we all knew or were at least suspecting, Janine and Simon had been more than just working colleagues, still most of us were sure it was nothing but an affair. Looking back now I think we might have been wrong. I think in some ways, Simon could be the reason why Janine’s and André’s marriage didn’t last, despite their best efforts.

It’s not that I believe in true love, or that Simon was Janine’s true love, none of this. But maybe, maybe she did like him more than we thought she did, and maybe she trusted him more than we thought she did. Who would be surprised to learn that Janine could never fully trust anybody again, after Simon’s betrayal? I think that was what drove her and André apart again. Marriage can’t last if you can’t fully trust your spouse, if there is always a small voice in your heat, telling you that the person you love could betray you, like Simon betrayed you.

This aside, I think Janine is happy. She never told us otherwise. She has her friends, and she a job that she’s really good at - she get’s paid for giving people orders and bossing them around, this might really be the perfect job for her! So I think Janine’s story has a happy ending. Until now, at least, and who knows what the future holds. But I’m slightly optimistic that the future will treat her well. A woman with her intellect and leading powers? She’ll make it.

 

Jamie Skeet, the former fireman who looked after all these kids and became an Abel Township Runner, went back to being a fire fighter, and is going to be a father soon.  
It’s a funny story, really, if you think of it: More than once he complained about having to take care of children, he called them brats and was not at all a kids friendly person. And now his girlfriend is going to have a baby, and he is really excited about it. The kids he took care of, Corinna and the others, went into custody of different families. Jamie still visits them, all of them, regularly to make sure they are fine and their new families treat them well.  
Humanity got closer due to the catastrophe that hit us, and nowhere is this better to be seen than with those orphans. Families who lost their home, and friends, and family members, who had nothing, like the rest of us, still decided to take one or two more children into their care. Sharing the few things they had.  
There are still many kids in Britain and around the world, left without any home or parents, and maybe it would have been harder for Jamie’s foster kids to find a new home if it wasn’t for Janine’s influence.

Archie’s death left a big gaping and painful hole, not only in New Canton but also in Abel, and in all our lives, she was missed by many and by no one more than Jamie. But the truth is, many of us found and lost loved people. Some never recover from that, and for a while it looked like Jamie was one of those. But some manage to carry on, and after mourning Archie’s death for a long long time, he found love again. Started a new life.  
Jamie Skeet has a family now, and many kids who still know who kept them save. Jamie Skeet likes children now, and it took him a whole zombie apocalypse to realize it.

 

The girl scouts are doing fine, making their way. Some of them found familymembers again, returning to them. Posey lives with her sister, Cassidy, and her hippie friends on a vegan farm. They are harvesting vegetables and teach others how to do it. Funny, how before the apocalypse we as a society used to look down on people like them, but now we celebrate them as heroes because they can teach us to grow our own food, in times when food is still rare and fresh vegetables are still not that easy to find.  
The other girl scouts are still doing their thing, more or less. The older girls work with the military now, they have skills considered useful. The younger girls live with foster families or relatives, and whenever their help is needed somewhere, they are still the first to appear out of nowhere. Reporting for duty. Saving lives, like they did so many times before.

 

Doctor Maxine Myers and Doctor Paula Cohen of cause still work for the government, but Maxine decided a few weeks ago to open her own medical center in spring, together with two other doctors she met.  
But I know, I know, neither of this is a big surprise, and what you, dear readers, are most interested in is of course the question if the two of them are still together. And I can assure you, as to the moment I am writing this down, Maxine and Paula are still very much in love with each other, making it sometimes really hard to spend time with both of them. If they get married before this book is published I will owe Janine my last bottle of scotch, so I hope they will still wait for a few more months. It’s not a question of „if“, just a matter of time.  
About three months ago, they adopted a young orphan boy, Eric, seven years old. He lost his parents to the undead and had stayed at Mullins after that. Clever little guy, actually. He likes science, maybe that’s why Paula didn’t even hesitate for a second to take him in, although Maxine once said she didn’t want to have kids before.  
But with his big smile and his bright mind, who could resist a kid like Eric?  
I wonder what it says about our society before the apocalypse? Adopting a kid would have been nearly impossible for a lesbian and unmarried couple, both with time consuming jobs. It needed the destruction of nearly all our civilization, the death of millions, and the wrath of the undead to make us see that being parents has nothing to do with your gender, your family status, your job or your sexuality.  
If there are only few things we learn from this whole catastrophe, this should be one of them.

 

Nadia left the terrible airplane accident of her past behind and works at Heathrow Airport again. Heathrow is busy, and so is she. Every day more military planes come and go, and even private jets operate again, for the really rich among us. She lives close to the airport and is still in contact with other operators and people from New Canton.

 

Phil Cheeseman of Radio New Tomorrow works for the BBC now, as they are currently trying to get television back to work. It might still take a while before we’ll have television news again, and telenovelas, but I really do hope they won’t forget about Doctor Who.  
Zoe, Phil’s co-host, is a teacher now, back at her home town. She still works for the radio whenever she can, creating learning programs for children who don’t have access to schools yet. She considers education for children more important than making playlists. 

 

I’m sad to say we haven’t yet heard anything from Evan Deaubl, our former Runner Seven. There are reports of a small plane the type he used crashing into the Atlantic ocean. Maybe it was him and he is dead, or maybe he is still hiding, somewhere on a tropical island with his dog. I certainly hope so, but we don’t know for sure.

 

Jody Marsh, former Runner Four, is working for the government and is in charge of the London Department for Family Reunions. After the war she declared she’d seen enough dead and enough people dying, she now wanted to see people reuniting. Her department cooperates with many others, worldwide, trying to find relatives, friends, even neighbors. Many times without success, but those few times they manage to find a lost relative somewhere in Belgium, or Scotland, or a boyfriend who was on a holiday in the United States during the outbreak, those few times are worth the effort a hundred times, she says.  
With the help of Janine, Jody even found Simon’s second cousin, Barty, and his family. Having lost everything in the zombie apocalypse, they are currently living in one of Simon’s old gyms, rebuilding it. There won’t be a need for gyms any time soon, but maybe sooner or later we’ll get back to running on treadmills instead of fleeing from zombies.  
Oh, and no, Maxine still didn’t succeed in setting up Jody and Owen, former Abel Runner 6, who is currently helping to rebuilt houses in London for those who return to the now zombie free capital. But Maxine won’t give up, and frankly I have to admit, she might even succeed.

 

Jack and Eugene, of course, are quite alright. More than that, I suppose. Sometimes I wonder if the Major would have allowed those two to start their own radio station if she had known the consequences. Maybe not.

Back then we thought Radio Abel was only heard around the area, maybe New Canton, maybe Brunswick. But we would never have thought that Radio Abel was the only working radio station in all Britain, and there were thousands of people listening to it every night, some of them clinging to the radio as a last connection to civilization. And we didn’t know about that crazy guy down in Brighton boosting the signal, transmitting Radio Abel across the channel, or about the people, scared and lacking any other entertainment, taping the songs whenever there was electricity, and taking the tapes along with them when leaving for another, maybe safer place to sleep.  
It was ridiculous, really. Classic rock from the 80ies from Eugene’s old mp3 player, Eurodance and pop music from Jack’s old iPod, lots of banter and silly puns and terrible jingles, Abel Minds and Runner Zero in the Forest of Fear. Lots of silly things.

Exactly what the people needed to hear: That there was still someone out there talking about something as simple as taste in music, or about foot and housing arrangements, telling funny anecdotes from traveling through a zombie infested country, discussing what movies would be like if you replaced all terrible things with kittens … it was what the people needed. Even as I write it this sounds silly and logical at the same time.

By the time people could leave their houses and settlements again, by the time there were fewer and fewer zombies, by the time things started to look a little better, Jack Holden and Eugene Woods - and to a lesser extend Phil and Zoe as well - were among the most beloved people and most recognizable voices here in Europe. First, there were patterns for Radio Abel logos on Rofflenet, available to download and put on your own T-Shirts and sweatshirts, making the old torn cloths look a little more bright, then fan letters, send online or via the still in use Runner Network, then there was a bigger Radio Station, then there was nationwide broadcast, then there were more and more transmitters boosting the signal, then there was live broadcast for central Europe.

Then there were more coworkers, regular news updates, a cooperation with The New Times, and the legendary first ever unplugged live broadcast of Kesha’s new album.

Eugene’s Survivor’s Cookbook is still really popular, he is working on Part 2, and Radio Abel franchise is pretty hot among teenagers. The two of them are living in a small flat next to the Radio Station, together with Jack’s sister Jill. Jody found her last year, the only member of Jack’s family still alive. Eugene did manage to find out news about his father, who is still living in Canada. The old man had survived the zombie apocalypse by hiding in a cottage in the forest, together with his two hunting friends and their families.

With all people working in the media, with all people who find themselves in the center of public attention, everything seems fine on the outside all the time. The truth is, it isn’t. It isn’t always great, there can’t be only good days. Jack and Eugene are no exception.  
What the public doesn’t know is that separated for about two months. They had met during the zombie outbreak, and sometimes it’s hard to make a relationship work if you find yourself in a completely new situation. For many couples, the zombie apocalypse was a new challenge to face, for Jack and Eugene, or „The Radio Boyfriends“ as most of their frans like to call them, the apocalypse was the normal status, and living a zombie free life was the challenge.  
But of course, they made up. They are Jack and Eugene after all, they made up, and until now it seems like they will get their happily ever after and their cheesy growing old together.  
Or maybe I am just like every other person writing about persons public interest, and I lie.

 

On my list of people you might be interested in, there are only two names left. And the most important question of all: Did Sam Yao, Abel Township radio operator indeed find his family and live in the Natural History Museum. The answer is: No and yes. After the war, Sam put all his effort into two things: Getting communications back online, and finding his sister, until now without success. Jody’s people are still working on finding her whereabouts or people who could confirm her death, but as to now, there has been no clue.  
But Sam did indeed live in the Natural History Museum after the end of the war. He spend a wonderful summer sleeping there, while working on the communications, until he finally realized how difficult it would be to heat the huge building in winter, and how cold it would get. He still works in communication with lots of other people via Rofflenet, trying hard to get everything back online some day, but he lives in a normal flat in London now.

 

The terrible experience of the zombie apocalypse brought out the worst in some people. Fighting for their own survival at the cost of others, selfish and inhuman.  
But it brought out the best in others.

And this brings me straight to Runner Five.

Runner Five was one of the best runners Abel Township has ever had. Loyal, reliable, fast, tight lipped, but a good friend to most Abel citizens. Five never shared many stories about the time before the outbreak, but we know one thing for sure: Five was the right person at the right place at the right time, and did good, no, excellent work.  
Unfortunately, people who find a purpose in life in a dangerous situation, who find a way to help others and grow beyond their potential, these people sometimes have a hard time getting used to life without these challenges.

When the war was over, Runner Five still served as a runner for a while, but was clearly struggling with the new situation, with friends leaving and with living a life outside Abel.  
Decorated with many honors for the commitment in the fight against van Ark and the zombies, Five left Abel Township when it became a full-time military base, and moved to London. As runners became lesser and lesser necessary, Five struggled with finding a new jobs and facing the challenges of a life after the war.  
Runner Five still helped Jody finding a few people, but didn’t return from tracing a woman’s son somewhere in Dublin, eventually disappearing without informing any old friends or allies.

 

For most people, life is now much better and easier, without the constant threat of zombies. For Runner Five, life was easier back then. Some people are good during a crisis, but not during normalcy. 

We can’t save everybody. This Runner saved so many, but in the end, nobody could save Five.


	2. Alternate Ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't decide which ending to write, so this is an alternate ending. Or an additional ending :)  
> It's pretty cheesy, but I'm not sorry. Not really :)

„Whoa, what? What kind of ending is this?“ Sam asked, glancing at the screen. „It’s sad. And a lie.

Five turned around on the chair, facing the former radio operator, one eyebrow raised. „Are you critizising my writing, Mr Yao?“

„Hell yeah I am. That’s a depressing ending!“

„It’s a commentary on modern society and the different effects the zombie apocalypse had on people. Plus, people don’t believe that all is well in the end, they won’t believe that there is a happy ending for everybody.“

„Oh really? You think people will prefer Runner-Five-couldn’t-deal-with-the-new-situation-and-disappeared to Runner-Five-is-actually-doing-quite-well-and-living-in-London?“

Five nodded with a grin. „Definitely. Pulitzer Prize, here I come.“

„You do know there is no more Pulitzer Prize, right?“

„I know, they’ll have to reestablish it. And we’ll make a furtune selling our story, the public just wants to know all about Abel Township.“

„Still, you should tell the truth, don’t you think? People will like your story, it’s a good story.“

Five shrugged. „It is. But it’s better if the public thinks Five has disappeared.“

„Why?“

There was a serious expression on Five’s face. „Because, Mr Yao, after reading this book everybody will know what a big damn hero this Runner Five was, I was, and they will never stop admiring me!“

„What?“ Sam blinked, surprised.

Five didn’t even listen, just continued with a theatrical voice: „They will follow me around, always asking about the time when I saved Owen from the train, or about the time I survived the night outside lost in the forest, or about when I shot down van Ark’s plane with that rocket launcher, or-“

„Hey, I know all this, I kinda was a part of all that, you remember?“ Sam couldn’t decide if he should be amused or insulted. But there it was again, the big smile on Five’s face he liked to see so much.

„I know, I know.“

„And why is the Runner Five in your story so silent, never saying a word? Are you suddenly a mute now?“

„It’s called stepping back behind the narrative, Sam. I’m stepping back to give you guys and the plot time to shine, and to stay as objective as possible.“

Sam raised an eyebrow, leaning forward, looking Five in the eyes. „Okay then, Runner Know-It-All, tell me one thing: If Runner Five disappeared never to be seen again, who is telling our story in this book?“

For a second Five looked at him, baffled and wide eyes, and Sam could see the realization setting in. „Dammit…“

He couldn’t help but laugh at that surprised face. „You really didn’t think his through, did you?“

„Not … really, no.“

„Well, you will have to change the ending. Tell the truth. But not now, we need to go. Maxine and Paula are waiting for us with dinner.“ He helped a still pretty taken aback Five out of the chair.

„Yeah, you’re right, I’ll have to change that. Oh man, and there I thought I was finally done..." Five sighed as they put on coats and boots. "So what should I write?"

"You could write that Runner Five and the amazing, wonderful, good looking, and charmingly geeky Sam Yao, who still is the most talented Radio Operator Abel Township has ever had..."

"Didn't you say I should write the truth?"

"Oi, rude! No hot shower for you tonight, I'm gonna use all the warm water for myself!"

"I'm sorry." Five hurried to say.

He smiled. "Okay, apology accepted. So, where was I? Right, the amazing, good looking, and charmingly geeky-"

"You forgot 'wonderful'!"

"You know, Five, I think I like the mute, tight lipped Runner Five of your book better than the real Runner Five." They left their apartment in the center of still half empty London. "Anyway, the amazing,  _wonderful_ , good looking, and charmingly..."

The door fell into its lock behind them, leaving their appartement sun flooded and empty. The computer was still working, the document Five had been editing still open:

_How we survived the Zombie Apocalypse. Memories of Abel Township._

_Dedicated to all those who fought._

_All those who lost the fight._

_And all those who survived._


End file.
